There is currently known in the prior art various handling devices which are used to facilitate the testing of small printed circuit boards which accommodate one or more memory devices. These "memory boards" are commonly referred to as SIMM circuit boards or SIMM boards (which include memory chips disposed on one side or face thereof) and DIMM circuit boards or DIMM boards (which include memory chips disposed on both sides or faces thereof). Also known in the prior art are handling devices which are used to facilitate the application of a label onto SIMM and/or DIMM boards subsequent to the testing thereof.
The prior art SIMM/DIMM handlers are generally similar to each other with respect to their structural details and operational methodology. Though accomplishing the task of testing SIMM and/or DIMM boards, such prior art handlers possess certain deficiencies which detract from their overall utility, with such deficiencies being related to, among other things, cost, reliability and accuracy. Many of these deficiencies are highlighted in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,489 entitled SIMM/DIMM BOARD HANDLER issued Jan. 6, 1998, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Perhaps the most significant deficiency of the prior art SIMM/DIMM handlers is that the feeding of the circuit board into a testing assembly of the handler requires that the circuit board travel lengthwise or longitudinally along a conveyor of the handler in only one direction and at only one height. As such, these prior art handlers are exceedingly large, and must be sized having a width which is at least four times the length of the circuit board to properly accommodate the various sub-assemblies of the handler, including the testing and sorting sub-assemblies is thereof.
A further deficiency is that the prior art SIMM/DIMM handlers are overly complex in construction and include numerous operating and coordinating elements, thus requiring excessive manual set-up time and increasing their susceptibility to general failure and high maintenance down time. More particularly, contributing to the extreme complexity of the prior art SIMM/DIMM handlers is their construction from a combination of electromechanical and pneumatic components, including stepper motors and conveyors, in addition to pneumatic actuators. Such construction causes the prior art SIMM/DIMM handlers to be noisy, bulky, slow acting, large in size, and susceptible to frequent down time. Further, in these prior art SIMM/DIMM handlers, little provision is made for machine action alternation due to malfunction, with such handlers being difficult to set-up for circuit boards of differing sizes.
In recognition of the deficiencies of the prior art SIMM/DIMM handlers, Applicant developed the SIMM/DIMM circuit board handling and testing apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,789. Though this particular SIMM/DIMM circuit board handler of the Applicant overcomes many of the deficiencies of the prior art SIMM/DIMM handlers, it lacks the ability to simultaneously test multiple SIMM or DIMM circuit boards or to apply labels thereto subsequent to the completion of the testing process, thus requiring the insertion of the tested circuit board into another circuit board handler which is adapted to facilitate the application of a label thereto. A further deficiency of Applicant's prior SIMM/DIMM circuit board handler and others similar thereto in construction is that the circuit boards are fed thereinto and ejected therefrom downwardly, which sometimes causes damage to the circuit boards.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art SIMM/DIMM handlers, as well as the shortcomings associated with Applicant's previous SIMM/DIMM circuit board handler, by providing an automated handling apparatus which, in addition to being adapted to concurrently test multiple SIMM or DIMM circuit boards, is further adapted to facilitate the application of a label thereto subsequent to the completion of the testing process. Additionally, the structure and operational sequence of the present automated handling apparatus is specifically adapted to facilitate the performance of the testing and labeling functions in a "gentle" manner which minimizes the risk of damage to the circuit boards.